FISHERIES OF SIBERIA 53 



The importance of this district, absolutely and relatively, declined 

 steadily. For the period 1909-1913 production amounted to about 

 141,120,000 pounds, or 56 per cent of the total catch in the Russian 

 far eastern waters; in 1914-1918 about 47,040,000 pounds, or 18 per 

 cent; and in 1919-1922, about 33,600,000 pounds, or 11 per cent. 



Fish for the Russian market, either frozen or salted, are shipped in 

 barrels of about 900 pounds' capacity. Fish destined for Japanese 

 markets are dry salted and not packed in barrels. 



Of late an interesting feature of the fishing industry in the Amur 

 district is the growing fall fishery of fresh chum salmon for export to 

 Japan in special steam or motor vessels. The salmon are packed in 

 iced boxes, to which a small quantity of salt is added. The duration 

 of the trip of such freighters is four to five days, and the chum reach 

 the Japanese markets in good condition. The profitableness of the 

 venture is illustrated by the number of such refrigerator vessels, there 

 having been 20 in 1920, more than double that number in 1921, while 

 in 1922 about 30 vessels came to one of the fishing stations. 



The refrigerating industry in Japan is developing rapidly. This 

 may influence not only the fishing industry of Amur but also of other 

 districts in the Russian far east, replacing exports of fish crudely 

 salted by fishery products of better quality. It is estimated that 

 600,000 to 700,000 fresh fish were exported to Japan in 1922, while 

 for the Russian market not more than 3,360,000 to 4,480,000 pounds 

 of salted fish were prepared. In 1922 the number of hands employed 

 in the Amur district was 11,200 (5,000 Japanese, 3,600 Russians, 

 1,400 Chinese, and Koreans, and about 1,200 of the local population). 



The catches of salmon in this district are steadily declining. The 

 most important cause of this is the spoliatory fishing by the local 

 population on the spawning grounds — that is, at the heads of creeks 

 and in the lakes of the middle and lower course of the Amur River. 

 In these areas the local population catches all the fish, including the 

 spawners, for the sake of their eggs for caviar. The flesh of the fish 

 when taken on the spawning grounds is not fit for consumption. This 

 condition might be helped by the promulgation of laws prohibiting 

 fishing and also by the establishment of hatcheries. In order to 

 avoid the depletion of salmon in far eastern waters, hatcheries are 

 necessary — first, 'because salmon spawn only once in their lifetime, 

 and second, because the number of eggs produced by salmon is rela- 

 tively small in comparison with those from other species. These un- 

 favorable conditions are still more accentuated by the adverse factors 

 affecting the development of eggs into fry and the great losses of the 

 latter, with the result that only a small percentage of them reach 

 adult age. 



Besides salmon, the catch of sturgeon — especially in the winter- 

 time — is of importance, particularly for local consumption. Between 

 Khabarovsk and Nikolayevsk fishing of importance to the local popu- 

 lation is being carried on, very little of this production reaching 

 markets for sale, however. 



OKHOTSK-KAMCHATKA REGION 



The Okhotsk-Kamchatka region is subdivided into the following 

 districts: Okhotsk, Ichinski, western Kamchatka, Karaginskii, and 

 eastern Kamchatka. The most important are western and eastern 



